The African Union Role in Peacebuilding Prospects and Challenges
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Keywords
Résumé
Peacebuilding is an approach to a complete lay down of interconnected efforts that sustain peace. It aims to transform beliefs, attitudes and behaviours to change the short- and long-term dynamics between individuals and groups toward a more stable and peaceful coexistence. However, the role of African Union (AU) in peacebuilding in Africa is basically situated in building a strong democratic institutions that would promote democratic principle in its member states; stopping unconstitutional change of government; promote constitutional governance; developing a strong peace and security council (PSC) with the task of maintain peace and security and the adoption of norms or principle that would permit intervention into the member state internal affairs. Whatever the situation of the continent is, the fact is that AU role in peacebuilding on the continent has gained little attention due to the numerous challenges that the Union is facing. As such most conflicts remain unresolved, while most member states still received the threat of unconstitutional changes. This article seeks to examine the AU role in peacebuilding on the continent.
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Références
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African Union (AU), (2000), The Constitutive Act of the African Union Adopted in Lome, Togo
African Union (AU), African Governance Platform, (2013), Draft Implementation Strategy and Action Plan: 2013-2017, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia
African Union (AU) Assessment Report, (2010), African Peace and Security Architecture (APSA) Assessment Study, Zanzibar, Tanzania
African Union (AU) Hand Book, (2014), A Guide for those Working within the African Union, African Union Commission and New Zealand Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia
African Union Peace and Security Council Protocol, (2002), Protocol Relating to the Establishment of the Peace and Security Council of the African Union, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia
Agbo, U. J.; Lenshire, N. E. and Boye, R. R. (2018). From Peacekeeping to Peace Enforcement: ECOWAS and the Regulations of Regional Security, Conflict Studies Quarterly, Issue 22(2), pp. 18-35. https://doi.org/10.24193/csq.22.2
Akokpari, J. K. (2004). The AU, NEPAD and the Promotion of Good Governance in Africa, Nordic Journal of African Studies, Vol. 13, No. 3
Amartya, S. (1999). Development as Freedom, Random House, New York
Aning, E. K. (1994). Managing regional security in West Africa: ECOWAS, ECOMOG and Liberia, Working Paper No. 94:2, Centre for Development Research, Copenhagen
Apuuli, K. P. (2018). The AU’s Peace and Security Architecture: The African Standby Force, in Karbo, T. & Murithi, T. (2018). The African Union: Autocracy, Diplomacy and Peace Building in Africa, Ed. I. B. Tauris. https://doi.org/10.5040/9781350988422.ch-007
Assefa, H. (2001). ‘Reconciliation’ in Reycher L. and Paffenholz, T. (eds) Peacebuilding: A Field Guide. London: Lynne Reiner
Azar, E., Mullet, E., and Vinsonneau, G. (1999). ‘The Propensity to Forgive: Findings from Lebanon’, Journal of Peace Research 36(2): 169–181. https://doi.org/10.1177/0022343399036002003
Bellamy, A. J. (2013). “The Responsibility to protect: Added value or hot air”? Cooperation and Conflict, Vol. 48 No. 3, pp. 333-357. https://doi.org/10.1177/0010836713482448
Boutros-Ghali, B. (1992). “An Agenda for Peace”: Preventive Diplomacy, Peacemaking, Peacekeeping, United Nations Doc A/47/277-S/24111, New York (NY)
Coning, C. (2013). What is Peacebuilding, Retrieved from: https://www.international-alert.org/about/what-is-peacebuilding/
Dersso, A. S. (2012). The Quest for Pax Africana: The Case of the African Union’s Peace and Security Regime, in Malan, J. 2012. Special Issue on African Union, African Journal of Conflict Resolution, Vol. 12, No. 2
Doyle, M. W. (1983). Kant, Liberal Legacies, and Foreign Affairs, part 1, Philos. Public Aff. 12:205.35
Eghweree, C. O. (2014). From OAU to AU: The Politics, Problems and Prospects of a Continental Union, Journal for Developing Country Studies, Vol. 4, No. 24, ISSN 2225-0565
Farmer, L. J. (2012). Sovereignty and the African Union, Journal of Pan-African Studies, Vol. 4, No. 10
Henderson, J. (2005). Securing a Peaceful Pacific, Canterbury University Press, Canterbury, pp. 3-12
Heyns, C. & Killander, M. (ed). (2006). Compendium of Key Human Rights Documents of the African Union, Pretoria: Pretoria University Press
International Institute for Democracy and Electoral Assistance (IIDEA), (2016a), Promoting Democracy and Peace in Africa: The Role of the African Union, Policy Brief
International Institute for Democracy and Electoral Assistance (IIDEA), (2016b), Challenges to the Rule of Law in Africa, Workshop Report, Pretoria, South Africa, April, 2016
Jeong, Ho-Won, (2005). Peacebuilding in Post-conflict Societies, Lynne Rienner, Boulder. https://doi.org/10.1515/9781685853518
Kabia, J. M. (2015). Postcoloniality, Conflict Intervention and Peacebuilding in West Africa: Opportunities and Challenges, in Omeje, K. (ed) (2015). The Crises of Postcoloniality in Africa, Council for the Development of Social Science Research in Africa, Dakar, Senegal. https://doi.org/10.2307/j.ctvh8r3k3.11
Karbo, T. & Murithi, T. (2018). The African Union: A Decade and a Half Later, in Karbo, T. & Murithi, T. (2018). The African Union: Autocracy, Diplomacy and Peace Building in Africa, Ed. I. B. Tauris. https://doi.org/10.5040/9781350988422.0008
Kissinger, H. (1994). Diplomacy, New York: Simon & Schuster
Knutsen, T. (1992). A History of International Relations Theory, Manchester, UK: Manchester University Press
Konaré, A. O. (2007). Address to Special Meeting of the Security Council on Africa, in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia
Landsberg, C. (2008). The Birth and Evolution of NEPAD, in Akokpari, J., Ndinga-Muvumba, A. & Murithi, T. (2008), The African Union and its Institutions, Ed. Fanele and Center for Conflict Resolution, Cape Town, South Africa
Lewis, L. (2008). Understanding Somalia and Somaliland, London, Hurst and Co
Lund, M. (1996). Preventing Violent Conflicts, United States Institute of Peace, Washington D.C
Makinda, S. M. & Okumu, F. W. (2008). The African Union: Challenges of Globalization, Security and Governance, Routledge: New York. https://doi.org/10.4324/9780203940112
Mangu, A. M. (2014). African Union and the Promotion of Democracy and Good Political Governance under the African Peer-Review Mechanism: 10 Years on, African Review, Routledge, Taylor & Francis Group. https://doi.org/10.1080/09744053.2014.883757
Murithi, T. (2006). African Approaches to Building Peace and Social Solidarity, ACCORD. https://doi.org/10.4314/ajcr.v6i2.39402
Murithi, T. (2009). The African Union’s Transition from Non-Intervention to Non-Indifference: An Ad Hoc Approach to the Responsibility to Protect, IPG
Mutua, M. W. (1995). Putting Humpty Dumpty back together: The Dilemmas of the Post-Colonial African States, Brooklyn Journal of International Affairs
Mwanasali, M. (2008). From Non-Interference to Non-Indifference: The Emerging Doctrine of Conflict Prevention in Africa, in Akokpari, J., Ndinga-Muvumba, A. & Murithi, T. 2008. The African Union and its Institutions, Ed. Fanele and Center for Conflict Resolution, Cape Town, South Africa
New Partnership for African Development (NEPAD), (2002), New Partnership for African Development (NEPAD) Declaration on Democracy, Political, Economic and Corporate Governance, AHG/235 (XXXVIII) Annex I
New Partnership for African Development (NEPAD), (2003), NEPAD Secretariat 6th Summit of the NEPAD Heads of State and Government Implementation Committee, Abuja, Nigeria
Ocheni, S. and Nwankwo, B. C. (2012). Analysis of Colonialism and its Impact in Africa, Journal of Cross-Cultural Communication, Vol. 8, No. 3
Okhonmina, S. (2009). The African Union: Pan-Africanist Aspirations and the Challenge of African Union, The Journal of Pan African Studies, Vol. 3, No. 4
Organisation of African Unity (OAU), (1963), The Charter of the Organisation of African Unity (OAU), Article 2(1), Addis Ababa, Ethiopia
Powell, K. (2005). African Union’s Emerging Peace and Security Regime: Opportunities and Challenges for Delivering on the Responsibility to Protect, Institute of Security Studies
Qudrat-I Elahi, K. (2009). UNDP on Good Governance, International Journal of Social Economics, Vol. 36, No. 12. https://doi.org/10.1108/03068290910996981
Ray, J. L. (1998). Does Democracy cause Peace, Journal of Political Science, Annual Review. https://doi.org/10.1146/annurev.polisci.1.1.27
Rylander, S. (2010). Governance and transformative leadership in Africa: progress, prospects and challenges. Harare: ACBF Development Memoirs Series
Solimano, A. (2005). Political Crisis, Social Conflict and Economic Development: The Political Economy of the Andean Region, Edward Elgar, UK. https://doi.org/10.4337/9781845425715
South Africa Ministry of Justice (1995), Promotion of National Unity and Reconciliation Act 34 of 1995, Retrieved from: http://www.justice.gov.za/legislation/acts/1995-034.pdf
Steinberg, G. M. (2013). The Limits of Peacebuilding Theory from: Routledge Handbook of Peacebuilding, Routledge
Tieku, T. K. (2008). Multilateralisation of Democracy Promotion and Defence in Africa, A Paper prepared for presentation at the Annual Meeting of the Canadian Political Science Association, UBC, Vancouver
United Nations Committee of Experts on Public Administration, (2006), Fifth Session of the United Nations Committee of Experts on Public Administration: Agenda Item, New York
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Verweijen, J. and Van Bockhaven, V. (2020). Revisiting Colonial Legacies in Knowledge Production on Customary Authority in Central and East Africa, Journal of Eastern African Studies, Vol. 14, No. 1. https://doi.org/10.1080/17531055.2019.1710366
Zartman, I. W. (ed) (2000). Traditional Cures for Modern Conflicts: African Conflict ‘Medicine’. Boulder, Colorado: Lynne Rienner. https://doi.org/10.1515/9781626371231
African Union (AU), (2000), The Constitutive Act of the African Union Adopted in Lome, Togo
African Union (AU), African Governance Platform, (2013), Draft Implementation Strategy and Action Plan: 2013-2017, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia
African Union (AU) Assessment Report, (2010), African Peace and Security Architecture (APSA) Assessment Study, Zanzibar, Tanzania
African Union (AU) Hand Book, (2014), A Guide for those Working within the African Union, African Union Commission and New Zealand Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia
African Union Peace and Security Council Protocol, (2002), Protocol Relating to the Establishment of the Peace and Security Council of the African Union, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia
Agbo, U. J.; Lenshire, N. E. and Boye, R. R. (2018). From Peacekeeping to Peace Enforcement: ECOWAS and the Regulations of Regional Security, Conflict Studies Quarterly, Issue 22(2), pp. 18-35. https://doi.org/10.24193/csq.22.2
Akokpari, J. K. (2004). The AU, NEPAD and the Promotion of Good Governance in Africa, Nordic Journal of African Studies, Vol. 13, No. 3
Amartya, S. (1999). Development as Freedom, Random House, New York
Aning, E. K. (1994). Managing regional security in West Africa: ECOWAS, ECOMOG and Liberia, Working Paper No. 94:2, Centre for Development Research, Copenhagen
Apuuli, K. P. (2018). The AU’s Peace and Security Architecture: The African Standby Force, in Karbo, T. & Murithi, T. (2018). The African Union: Autocracy, Diplomacy and Peace Building in Africa, Ed. I. B. Tauris. https://doi.org/10.5040/9781350988422.ch-007
Assefa, H. (2001). ‘Reconciliation’ in Reycher L. and Paffenholz, T. (eds) Peacebuilding: A Field Guide. London: Lynne Reiner
Azar, E., Mullet, E., and Vinsonneau, G. (1999). ‘The Propensity to Forgive: Findings from Lebanon’, Journal of Peace Research 36(2): 169–181. https://doi.org/10.1177/0022343399036002003
Bellamy, A. J. (2013). “The Responsibility to protect: Added value or hot air”? Cooperation and Conflict, Vol. 48 No. 3, pp. 333-357. https://doi.org/10.1177/0010836713482448
Boutros-Ghali, B. (1992). “An Agenda for Peace”: Preventive Diplomacy, Peacemaking, Peacekeeping, United Nations Doc A/47/277-S/24111, New York (NY)
Coning, C. (2013). What is Peacebuilding, Retrieved from: https://www.international-alert.org/about/what-is-peacebuilding/
Dersso, A. S. (2012). The Quest for Pax Africana: The Case of the African Union’s Peace and Security Regime, in Malan, J. 2012. Special Issue on African Union, African Journal of Conflict Resolution, Vol. 12, No. 2
Doyle, M. W. (1983). Kant, Liberal Legacies, and Foreign Affairs, part 1, Philos. Public Aff. 12:205.35
Eghweree, C. O. (2014). From OAU to AU: The Politics, Problems and Prospects of a Continental Union, Journal for Developing Country Studies, Vol. 4, No. 24, ISSN 2225-0565
Farmer, L. J. (2012). Sovereignty and the African Union, Journal of Pan-African Studies, Vol. 4, No. 10
Henderson, J. (2005). Securing a Peaceful Pacific, Canterbury University Press, Canterbury, pp. 3-12
Heyns, C. & Killander, M. (ed). (2006). Compendium of Key Human Rights Documents of the African Union, Pretoria: Pretoria University Press
International Institute for Democracy and Electoral Assistance (IIDEA), (2016a), Promoting Democracy and Peace in Africa: The Role of the African Union, Policy Brief
International Institute for Democracy and Electoral Assistance (IIDEA), (2016b), Challenges to the Rule of Law in Africa, Workshop Report, Pretoria, South Africa, April, 2016
Jeong, Ho-Won, (2005). Peacebuilding in Post-conflict Societies, Lynne Rienner, Boulder. https://doi.org/10.1515/9781685853518
Kabia, J. M. (2015). Postcoloniality, Conflict Intervention and Peacebuilding in West Africa: Opportunities and Challenges, in Omeje, K. (ed) (2015). The Crises of Postcoloniality in Africa, Council for the Development of Social Science Research in Africa, Dakar, Senegal. https://doi.org/10.2307/j.ctvh8r3k3.11
Karbo, T. & Murithi, T. (2018). The African Union: A Decade and a Half Later, in Karbo, T. & Murithi, T. (2018). The African Union: Autocracy, Diplomacy and Peace Building in Africa, Ed. I. B. Tauris. https://doi.org/10.5040/9781350988422.0008
Kissinger, H. (1994). Diplomacy, New York: Simon & Schuster
Knutsen, T. (1992). A History of International Relations Theory, Manchester, UK: Manchester University Press
Konaré, A. O. (2007). Address to Special Meeting of the Security Council on Africa, in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia
Landsberg, C. (2008). The Birth and Evolution of NEPAD, in Akokpari, J., Ndinga-Muvumba, A. & Murithi, T. (2008), The African Union and its Institutions, Ed. Fanele and Center for Conflict Resolution, Cape Town, South Africa
Lewis, L. (2008). Understanding Somalia and Somaliland, London, Hurst and Co
Lund, M. (1996). Preventing Violent Conflicts, United States Institute of Peace, Washington D.C
Makinda, S. M. & Okumu, F. W. (2008). The African Union: Challenges of Globalization, Security and Governance, Routledge: New York. https://doi.org/10.4324/9780203940112
Mangu, A. M. (2014). African Union and the Promotion of Democracy and Good Political Governance under the African Peer-Review Mechanism: 10 Years on, African Review, Routledge, Taylor & Francis Group. https://doi.org/10.1080/09744053.2014.883757
Murithi, T. (2006). African Approaches to Building Peace and Social Solidarity, ACCORD. https://doi.org/10.4314/ajcr.v6i2.39402
Murithi, T. (2009). The African Union’s Transition from Non-Intervention to Non-Indifference: An Ad Hoc Approach to the Responsibility to Protect, IPG
Mutua, M. W. (1995). Putting Humpty Dumpty back together: The Dilemmas of the Post-Colonial African States, Brooklyn Journal of International Affairs
Mwanasali, M. (2008). From Non-Interference to Non-Indifference: The Emerging Doctrine of Conflict Prevention in Africa, in Akokpari, J., Ndinga-Muvumba, A. & Murithi, T. 2008. The African Union and its Institutions, Ed. Fanele and Center for Conflict Resolution, Cape Town, South Africa
New Partnership for African Development (NEPAD), (2002), New Partnership for African Development (NEPAD) Declaration on Democracy, Political, Economic and Corporate Governance, AHG/235 (XXXVIII) Annex I
New Partnership for African Development (NEPAD), (2003), NEPAD Secretariat 6th Summit of the NEPAD Heads of State and Government Implementation Committee, Abuja, Nigeria
Ocheni, S. and Nwankwo, B. C. (2012). Analysis of Colonialism and its Impact in Africa, Journal of Cross-Cultural Communication, Vol. 8, No. 3
Okhonmina, S. (2009). The African Union: Pan-Africanist Aspirations and the Challenge of African Union, The Journal of Pan African Studies, Vol. 3, No. 4
Organisation of African Unity (OAU), (1963), The Charter of the Organisation of African Unity (OAU), Article 2(1), Addis Ababa, Ethiopia
Powell, K. (2005). African Union’s Emerging Peace and Security Regime: Opportunities and Challenges for Delivering on the Responsibility to Protect, Institute of Security Studies
Qudrat-I Elahi, K. (2009). UNDP on Good Governance, International Journal of Social Economics, Vol. 36, No. 12. https://doi.org/10.1108/03068290910996981
Ray, J. L. (1998). Does Democracy cause Peace, Journal of Political Science, Annual Review. https://doi.org/10.1146/annurev.polisci.1.1.27
Rylander, S. (2010). Governance and transformative leadership in Africa: progress, prospects and challenges. Harare: ACBF Development Memoirs Series
Solimano, A. (2005). Political Crisis, Social Conflict and Economic Development: The Political Economy of the Andean Region, Edward Elgar, UK. https://doi.org/10.4337/9781845425715
South Africa Ministry of Justice (1995), Promotion of National Unity and Reconciliation Act 34 of 1995, Retrieved from: http://www.justice.gov.za/legislation/acts/1995-034.pdf
Steinberg, G. M. (2013). The Limits of Peacebuilding Theory from: Routledge Handbook of Peacebuilding, Routledge
Tieku, T. K. (2008). Multilateralisation of Democracy Promotion and Defence in Africa, A Paper prepared for presentation at the Annual Meeting of the Canadian Political Science Association, UBC, Vancouver
United Nations Committee of Experts on Public Administration, (2006), Fifth Session of the United Nations Committee of Experts on Public Administration: Agenda Item, New York
United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), (1997), “Governance for sustainable human development – a UNDP policy document”, United Nations Development Programme, Retrieved from:http://mirror.undp.org/magnet/policy, accessed on Wednesday 3rd July 2019
Verweijen, J. and Van Bockhaven, V. (2020). Revisiting Colonial Legacies in Knowledge Production on Customary Authority in Central and East Africa, Journal of Eastern African Studies, Vol. 14, No. 1. https://doi.org/10.1080/17531055.2019.1710366
Zartman, I. W. (ed) (2000). Traditional Cures for Modern Conflicts: African Conflict ‘Medicine’. Boulder, Colorado: Lynne Rienner. https://doi.org/10.1515/9781626371231
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Oct 3, 2025
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The African Union Role in Peacebuilding: Prospects and Challenges. (2025). Revue Africaine De Science Politique, 13(1), 67-83. https://doi.org/10.36615/nnfrwp28
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The African Union Role in Peacebuilding: Prospects and Challenges. (2025). Revue Africaine De Science Politique, 13(1), 67-83. https://doi.org/10.36615/nnfrwp28